Darius

[george rose]

Hi all, does anyone know Darius' nationality was it Iranian or Iraqi, or could he have been of some Greek extraction? Many say he was a wimp, but some of my readings say he was very brave and a good leader.regards,
George

[Yiannis]

If I recall, the great king was always of Persian descent and the dynasty was the Achemenids. There's no point in saying Iraq or Iran. It means nothing. These days there were Persians (corresponds to todayGÇÖs Iran), Medes, Lydians, Assyrians etc. Today Iraqis are of Arab descent.
I don't think that Darius was brave but he was a good leader and especially organizer. After his defeat at Issus he managed to form and equip another army in a very short time. Maybe he should not take part in the battle since he was so scared. Xerxes during the invasion of Greece was watching the battles from a throne on a near by mountain. Someone should point this out to him :-)regards,yiannis

[marcus]

Yiannis,You're right, of course, about the fact that 'Iran' or 'Iraq' are misleading terms to use.I do remember reading somewhere (although goodness knows where) that Darius was actually an Armenian. Now, I suspect that this was some sort of Armenian propaganda, and I wish I could remember where I read it - because, as you say, he can only have been Persian... but have you, or anyone else, come across the Armenian business before?All the bestMarcus